The present invention relates to novel catalyst systems of the Ziegler-Natta type comprising as active constituents
a) a solid component comprising a compound of titanium or vanadium, a compound of magnesium, a particulate inorganic oxide as support and an internal electron donor compound,
and as cocatalyst
b) an aluminum compound and
c) if desired, a further, external electron donor compound,
wherein the particulate, inorganic oxide used has a specific surface area of from 350 to 1000 m2/g and a mean particle diameter {overscore (D)} in the range from 5 to 60 xcexcm and comprises particles which are composed of primary particles having a mean particle diameter {overscore (d)} in the range from 1 to 10 xcexcm and contain voids or channels between the primary particles, where the macroscopic proportion of voids or channels having a diameter of greater than 1 xcexcm in the particles of the inorganic oxides is in the range from 5 to 30% by volume and the molar ratio of the compound of magnesium to the particulate, inorganic oxide is from 0.5:1 to 2.0:1.
The present invention also relates to a process for preparing homopolymers and copolymers of propylene with the aid of such catalyst systems, to the homopolymers and copolymers of propylene obtainable in this way, to their use for producing films, fibers or moldings and to the films, fibers or moldings themselves.
WO 96/05236 describes a supported catalyst component comprising a magnesium halide and, as support, a particulate solid which has a specific surface area of from 10 to 1000 m2/g and in which the majority of the support particles are in the form of agglomerates of subparticles. Such catalyst components make it possible to prepare 1-alkene polymers having a good morphology and bulk density at high catalyst efficiency.
EP-A 761 696 relates to catalyst systems of the Ziegler-Natta type comprising, as supports, particulate silica gels which have a mean particle diameter of from 5 to 200 xcexcm, a mean particle diameter of the primary particles of from 1 to 10 xcexcm and voids or channels which have a mean diameter of from 1 to 10 xcexcm and whose macroscopic proportion by volume in the total particle is in the range from 5 to 20%. The catalyst systems have a high productivity and stereospecificity in the polymerization of C2-C10-alk-1-enes and films produced from such polymers have a reduced tendency to form microspecks, i.e. small irregularities in the surface of the films.
WO 97/48742 discloses loosely aggregated catalyst support compositions which have a particle size of from 2 to 250 xcexcm and a specific surface area of from 100 to 1000 m2/g, where the support particles comprise particles having a mean particle size of less than 30 xcexcm and a binder which loosely binds these particles to one another. The polymerization catalysts obtainable from such catalyst supports have a high activity and lead to homogeneous polymers from which films having a good appearance can be produced.
WO 97/48743 relates to crumbly, agglomerated catalyst support particles which have a mean particle size of from 2 to 250 xcexcm and a specific surface area of from 1 to 1000 m2/g and which are produced by spray drying primary particles having a mean particle size of from 3 to 10 xcexcm. The characteristic feature of these agglomerated catalyst support particles is that at least 80% by volume of the agglomerated particles which are smaller than the D90 of the original particle size distribution have a microspherical morphology. (The D90 indicates that 90% by volume of the particles have a smaller diameter.) The microspherical agglomerated catalyst support particles have interstitial voids of uniform size and distribution within the particle; at least some of the voids penetrate the particle surface and thus form at least 10 channels from the surface to the interior of the agglomerated particles. The polymerization catalysts obtainable from these catalyst supports also have a high activity and allow the production of films having a good appearance.
Although the polymers prepared using polymerization catalysts corresponding to the prior art described by and large meet the requirements in respect of film quality, the proportion of microspecks or troublesome impurities is still capable of significant improvement, especially compared to polymers which have been produced using catalyst systems containing no inorganic oxides as support.
Furthermore, in the production of fibers from polymers of propylene, it is necessary for economic reasons to achieve a significant increase in the operating lives of the filters for liquid polypropylene upstream of the spinnerets. These operating lives are significantly lower in the case of polypropylene which has been prepared using supported catalysts than in the case of polypropylene which has been obtained using an unsupported catalyst.
However, the advantages in respect of polymer morphology which result from the use of the inorganic oxides should be retained. In addition, there is always a need to achieve higher catalyst productivities.
It is an object of the present invention to remedy the abovementioned disadvantages and to develop improved catalyst systems of the Ziegler-Natta type which have significantly improved productivity and which make it possible to obtain polymers of 1-alkenes having a good morphology and a high bulk density from which it is possible to produce, inter alia, films having a reduced tendency to form microspecks and fibers having less troublesome contamination, which leads to an increase in the operating lives of the polymer melt filtration screens.
We have found that this object is achieved by the catalyst systems defined at the outset, and also by the process for preparing polymers of propylene, their use for producing films, fibers or moldings and also the films and fibers or moldings made of these polymers.
The catalyst systems of the present invention comprise a solid component a) and also a cocatalyst. A suitable cocatalyst is the aluminum compound b). Preferably, in addition to this aluminum compound b), an electron donor compound c) is additionally used as a further constituent of the cocatalyst.
According to the present invention, the catalyst system is prepared using at least one particulate inorganic oxide which has a specific surface area of from 350 to 1000 m2/g, preferably from 400 to 700 m2/g and in particular from 450 to 600 m2/g, determined by nitrogen adsorption in accordance with DIN 66131.
The inorganic oxides to be used according to the present invention have a mean particle diameter {overscore (D)} of from 5 to 60 xcexcm, preferably from 15 to 60 xcexcm and in particular from 20 to 60 xcexcm. Here, the mean particle diameter {overscore (D)} is the volume-based mean (median) of the particle size distribution determined by Coulter Counter analysis in accordance with ASTM Standard D 4438.
The particles of the inorganic oxides are composed of primary particles which have a mean particle diameter {overscore (d)} of from 1 to 10 xcexcm, preferably from 3 to 10 xcexcm and in particular from 4 to 8 xcexcm. These primary particles are porous, granular oxide particles which are generally obtained by dry and/or wet milling from a hydrogel of the inorganic oxide. It is also possible to sieve the primary particles before they are processed further.
In addition, the inorganic oxides have voids or channels which have a diameter of greater than 1 xcexcm and whose macroscopic proportion in the particles of the inorganic oxides is in the range from 5 to 30% by volume, in particular from 10 to 25% by volume. It is also advantageous for them to meet at least one of the following conditions:
i) less than 10% by volume and preferably less than 8% by volume of the primary particles have a particle diameter d of greater than 15 xcexcm or
ii) less than 5% by volume and preferably less than 3% by volume of the primary particles have a particle diameter d of greater than 20 xcexcm.
The mean particle diameter {overscore (d)} of the primary particles, the distribution of the particle diameters d of the primary particles and the macroscopic proportion of the voids or channels having a diameter of greater than 1 xcexcm are determined by image analysis of scanning electron micrographs of cross sections of the inorganic oxide particles. Evaluation is carried out by conversion of the halftone image obtained by electron microscopy into a binary image and digital evaluation by means of an appropriate EDP program. Here, the particles are xe2x80x9celectronicallyxe2x80x9d fragmented, i.e. primary particles which are in contact are separated from one another by means of a sequence of mathematical operations. It is then possible to classify the separated particles electronically according to size and to count them. This gives a precise particle size distribution of the primary particles and indicates the proportion of coarse primary particles having particle sizes d of greater than 15 xcexcm or 20 xcexcm in the particulate inorganic oxide examined. In addition, the precise proportion of voids or channels having a diameter of greater than 15 xcexcm or 20 xcexcm within the particles can be determined in the course of the analytical evaluation. Preferably, at least 100 of the particles composed of primary particles are analyzed so as to obtain a sufficiently large number of particles for reproducibly good statistical evaluation. This means that a number of images of cross sections (scanning electron micrographs) have to be employed.
The inorganic oxides can be obtained, for example, by spray drying the milled hydrogels, which are for this purpose mixed with water or an aliphatic alcohol. Spray drying can be carried out using a binder which promotes the particle formation process during spray drying and/or improves the cohesion of the primary particles in the particles of the inorganic oxide. As binder, it is possible to use particularly fine, e.g. colloidal, particles of the inorganic oxides. However, it is also possible to add auxiliaries, for example polymers such as cellulose derivatives, polystyrene or polymethyl methacrylate, as binder. The particles obtained in this way generally have a spheroidal, i.e. sphere-like, shape.
Suitable inorganic oxides are, first and foremost, the oxides of silicon, aluminum, titanium, zirconium or one of the metals of main groups I and II of the Periodic Table, or mixtures of such oxides. Preferred oxides are, for example, aluminum oxide, aluminum phosphate, magnesium oxide or sheet silicates. Particular preference is giving to using silicon oxide (silica gel). It is also possible to use mixed oxides such as aluminum silicates or magnesium silicates.
The particulate inorganic oxides usually have pore volumes of from 0.1 to 10 cm3/g, preferably from 1.0 to 4.0 cm3/g, measured by mercury porosimetry in accordance with DIN 66133 and by nitrogen adsorption in accordance with DIN 66131.
Depending on the process by which the particulate inorganic oxides are prepared, their pH, i.e. the negative logarithm to the base ten of the proton concentration, can assume various values. It is preferably in the range from 3.0 to 9.0, in particular from 4.0 to 7.5 and particularly preferably from 4.0 to 7.0. The pH of the particulate inorganic oxides is generally determined by the method described in S. R. Morrison, xe2x80x9cThe Chemical Physics of Surfacesxe2x80x9d, Plenum Press, New York [1977], page 130 et seq.
After they have been prepared, the inorganic oxides frequently have hydroxyl groups on their surface. Removal of water makes it possible to reduce or completely eliminate the content of OH groups. This can be achieved by thermal or chemical treatment. Thermal treatment is usually carried out by heating the inorganic oxide for from 1 to 24 hours, preferably from 2 to 20 hours and in particular from 3 to 12 hours, at from 250 to 900xc2x0 C., preferably from 600 to 800xc2x0 C. The hydroxyl groups can also be removed by chemical means by treating the inorganic oxides with customary desiccants such as SiCl4, chlorosilanes or aluminum alkyls. Preferred inorganic oxides contain from 0.5 to 5% by weight of water. The water content is usually determined by drying the inorganic oxide to constant weight at 160xc2x0 C. under atmospheric pressure. The weight loss corresponds to the original water content.
In addition to the particulate inorganic oxide as support, the solid component a) comprises, inter alia, compounds of titanium or vanadium.
Titanium compounds used are generally the halides or alkoxides of trivalent or tetravalent titanium. Titanium alkoxide halide compounds or mixtures of various titanium compounds are also possible. Examples of suitable titanium compounds are TiBr3, TiBr4, TiCl3, TiCl4, Ti(OCH3)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Cl3, Ti(Oxe2x80x94isoxe2x80x94C3H7)Cl3, Ti(Oxe2x80x94nxe2x80x94C4H9)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Br3, Ti(Oxe2x80x94nxe2x80x94C4H9)Br3, Ti(OCH3)2Cl2, Ti(OC2H5)2Cl2, Ti(Oxe2x80x94nxe2x80x94C4H9)2Cl2, Ti(OC2H5)2Br2, Ti(OCH3)3Cl, Ti(OC2H5)3Cl, Ti(Oxe2x80x94nxe2x80x94C4H9)3Cl, Ti(OC2H5)3Br, Ti(OCH3)4, Ti(OC2H5)4 or Ti(Oxe2x80x94nxe2x80x94C4H9)4. Preference is given to using those titanium compounds which contain chlorine as halogen. Also preferred are titanium halides consisting of only halogen and titanium, and among these especially the titanium chlorides and in particular titanium tetrachloride. Among the vanadium compounds, particular mention may be made of vanadium halides, vanadium oxyhalides, vanadium alkoxides and vanadium acetylacetonates. The vanadium compounds are preferably in the oxidation states 3 to 5.
In the preparation of the solid component a), additional use is preferably made of at least one compound of magnesium. Suitable compounds of magnesium are halogen-containing magnesium compounds such as magnesium halides, in particular the chlorides or bromides, or magnesium compounds from which the magnesium halides can be obtained in a customary manner, e.g. by reaction with halogenating agents. In the present context, halogens are chlorine, bromine, iodine or fluorine or mixtures of two or more thereof, with preference being given to chlorine or bromine and particular preference being given to chlorine.
Particularly useful halogen-containing magnesium compounds are magnesium chlorides or magnesium bromides. Examples of magnesium compounds from which the halides can be obtained are magnesium alkyls, magnesium aryls, magnesium alkoxides and magnesium aryloxides and Grignard compounds. Suitable halogenating agents are, for example, halogens, hydrogen halides, SiCl4 or CCl4 and preferably chlorine or hydrogen chloride.
Examples of suitable halogen-free compounds of magnesium are diethylmagnesium, di-n-propylmagnesium, diisopropylmagnesium, di-n-butylmagnesium, di-sec-butylmagnesium, di-tert-butylmagnesium, diamylmagnesium, n-butylethylmagnesium, n-butyl-sec-butylmagnesium, n-butyloctylmagnesium, diphenylmagnesium, diethoxymagnesium, di-n-propyloxymagnesium, diisopropyloxymagnesium, di-n-butyloxymagnesium, di-sec-butyloxymagnesium, di-tert-butyloxymagnesium, diamyloxymagnesium, n-butyloxyethoxymagnesium, n-butyloxy-sec-butyloxymagnesium, n-butyloxyoctyloxymagnesium and diphenoxymagnesium. Among these, preference is given to using n-butylethylmagnesium or n-butyloctylmagnesium.
Examples of Grignard compounds are methylmagnesium chloride, ethylmagnesium chloride, ethylmagnesium bromide, ethylmagnesium iodide, n-propylmagnesium chloride, n-propylmagnesium bromide, n-butylmagnesium chloride, n-butylmagnesium bromide, sec-butylmagnesium chloride, sec-butylmagnesium bromide, tert-butylmagnesium chloride, tert-butylmagnesium bromide, hexylmagnesium chloride, octylmagnesium chloride, amylmagnesium chloride, isoamylmagnesium chloride, phenylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromide.
Apart from magnesium dichloride and magnesium dibromide, particular preference is given to using di(C1-C10-alkyl)magnesium compounds as magnesium compounds for preparing the particulate solids.
The preparation of the catalyst systems of the present invention is preferably carried out using from 0.5 to 2.0 mol, in particular from 0.5 to 1.5 mol and particularly preferably from 0.5 to 1.0 mol, of the magnesium compounds per mole of the inorganic oxide.
In addition to the magnesium compounds, it is also possible to use at least one internal electron donor compound in the preparation of the particulate solids. Examples of suitable internal electron donor compounds are monofunctional or polyfunctional carboxylic acids, carboxylic anhydrides or carboxylic esters, also ketones, ethers, alcohols, lactones or organophosphorus or organosilicon compounds.
Preference is given to carboxylic acid derivatives and in particular phthalic acid derivatives of the formula (I) 
where X and Y are each a chlorine or bromine atom or a C1-C10-alkoxy radical or are together oxygen in an anhydride function. Particularly preferred internal electron donor compounds are phthalic esters in which X and Y is a C1-C8-alkoxy radical, for example a methoxy, ethoxy, n-propyloxy, isopropyloxy n-butyloxy, sec-butyloxy, isobutyloxy or tert-butyloxy radical. Examples of phthalic esters which are preferably used are diethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, di-n-pentyl phthalate, di-n-hexyl phthalate, di-n-heptyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate.
Further preferred internal electron donor compounds are diesters of 3- or 4-membered, substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkane-1,2-dicarboxylic acids, and also monoesters of substituted benzophenone-2-carboxylic acids or substituted benzophenone-2-carboxylic acids. As hydroxy compounds in these esters, use is made of the alkanols customary in esterification reactions, for example C1-C15-alkanols or C5-C7-cycloalkanols, which may in turn bear one or more C1-C10-alkyl groups, also C6-C10-phenols.
It is also possible to use mixtures of various electron donor compounds.
If internal electron donor compounds are used in the preparation of the particulate solids, use is generally made of from 0.05 to 2.0 mol, preferably from 0.2 to 0.5 mol, of the electron donor compounds per mole of the magnesium compounds.
Furthermore, the preparation of the particulate solids can also be carried out using C1-C8-alkanols such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol, isobutanol, n-hexanol, n-heptanol, n-octanol or 2-ethylhexanol or mixtures thereof, among which ethanol is preferred.
The catalyst systems of the present invention can be prepared by methods known per se.
The following two-stage process is preferably employed:
In the first step, the inorganic oxide is firstly mixed in an inert solvent, preferably a liquid alkane or an aromatic hydrocarbon such as toluene or ethylbenzene, with a solution of the magnesium compound, after which this mixture is allowed to react for from 0.5 to 5 hours at from 10 to 120xc2x0 C., generally while stirring. Subsequently, usually while stirring continually, a halogenating agent such as chlorine or hydrogen chloride is added in an at least two-fold molar excess, preferably in an at least five-fold molar excess, based on the magnesium-containing compound, and the mixture is allowed to react for from about 30 to 120 minutes. The C1-C8-alkanol and the transition metal compound, preferably a titanium compound, and the internal electron donor compound are then added at from xe2x88x9220 to 150xc2x0 C. The transition metal compound and the internal electron donor compound can be added at the same time as the C1-C8-alkanol, but it is also possible firstly to allow the C1-C8-alkanol to react with the intermediate for from about 10 to 120 minutes at from 0 to 100xc2x0 C. Per mole of magnesium, use is made of from 1 to 5 mol, preferably from 1.6 to 4 mol, of the C1-C8-alkanol, from 1 to 15 mol, preferably from 2 to 10 mol, of the titanium compound and from 0.01 to 1 mol, preferably from 0.2 to 0.5 mol, of the internal electron donor compound. This mixture is allowed to react for at least 10 minutes, in particular at least 30 minutes, at from 10 to 150xc2x0 C., preferably from 60 to 130xc2x0 C., generally while stirring. The solid obtained in this way is subsequently filtered off and washed with a C7-C10-alkylbenzene, preferably ethylbenzene.
In the second step, the solid obtained from the first step is extracted with excess titanium tetrachloride or an excess of a solution of titanium tetrachloride in an inert solvent, preferably a C7-C10-alkylbenzene, at from 100 to 150xc2x0 C. In the case of a solution, this contains at least 5% by weight of titanium tetrachloride. The extraction is generally carried out for at least 30 minutes. The product is then washed with a liquid alkane until the titanium tetrachloride content of the washings is less than 2% by weight.
The solid component a) preferably has a molar ratio of the inorganic oxide to the compound of titanium or vanadium in the range from 1000 to 1, in particular from 100 to 2 and particularly preferably from 50 to 3.
An advantage of the catalyst systems of the present invention is that films of 1-alkene polymers prepared using these catalyst systems have fewer microspecks, and the fiber products obtained therefrom display a reduction in troublesome impurities, which results in an increase in the operating lives of the polymer melt filtration screens. However, this is not associated with a decrease in the catalyst productivity, but instead an increased productivity is observed. With regard to the film quality, it is assumed that the microspecks are to at least some extent caused by large, unfragmented solid particles. It should be thus be possible to reduce the number of microspecks by reducing the mean particle size {overscore (d)} of the primary particles. In actual practice, however, solids consisting exclusively of very small primary particles and having a high proportion of colloidal inorganic oxide have a high packing density which prevents immobilization of the active component owing to the lack of pores and channels, so that both an increase in the microspecks and a decrease in the catalyst productivity are observed.
The use of porous inorganic oxides having the above-described properties enables the immobilization capacity of the active components, i.e. the magnesium chloride, the titanium compound and the electron donor, to be greatly increased, as a result of which the active components are distributed more homogeneously over the inorganic oxide matrix and the amount of inorganic oxide as a proportion of the total particulate solid component a) can be reduced.
Furthermore, use of inorganic oxides having a reduced mean particle diameter (of the agglomerate) enables a further significant improvement in the immobilization capacity of the active component and thus an increase in the productivity compared to an inorganic oxide having the same primary particle distribution and the same morphological structure but a greater mean particle diameter (of the agglomerate) to be achieved.
The catalyst systems of the present invention can be used, in particular, for the polymerization of 1-alkenes. The 1-alkenes include, inter alia, linear or branched C2-C10-alk-1-enes, in particular linear C2-C10-alk-1-enes such as ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, 1-octene, 1-nonene, 1-decene or 4-methyl-1-pentene. It is also possible to polymerize mixtures of these 1-alkenes.
In addition to the solid component a), the catalyst systems of the present invention further comprise at least one cocatalyst. A suitable cocatalyst is the aluminum compound b). Preference is given to using an external electron donor compound c) in addition to this aluminum compound b).
Suitable aluminum compounds b) are trialkylaluminums and also compounds which are derived therefrom and in which an alkyl group is replaced by an alkoxy group or by a halogen atom, for example chlorine or bromine. The alkyl groups can be identical or different. Linear or branched alkyl groups are possible. Preference is given to using trialkylaluminum compounds whose alkyl groups each have from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, for example trimethylaluminum, triethylaluminum, triisobutylaluminum, trioctylaluminum or methyldiethylaluminum or mixtures thereof.
In addition to the aluminum compounds b), it is possible to use external electron donor compounds c) as further cocatalysts, for example monofunctional or polyfunctional carboxylic acids, carboxylic anhydrides and carboxylic esters, also ketones, ethers, alcohols, lactones and organophosphorus and organosilicon compounds. The external electron donor compounds c) can be identical to or different from the internal electron donor compounds used for preparing the catalyst solid a). Preferred external electron donor compounds c) are organosilicon compounds of the formula (II)
R1nSi(OR2)4-nxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
where R1 are identical or different and are each a C1-C20-alkyl group, a 5- to 7-membered cycloalkyl group which may in turn bear C1-C10-alkyl groups as substituents, a C6-C18-aryl group or a C6-C18-aryl-C1-C10-alkyl group, R2 are identical or different and are each a C1-C20-alkyl groups and n is 1, 2 or 3. Particular preference is given to compounds in which R1 is a C1-C8-alkyl group or a 5- to 7-membered cycloalkyl group and R2 is a C1-C4-alkyl group and n is 1 or 2.
Among these compounds, particular mention should be made of diisopropyldimethoxysilane, isobutylisopropyldimethoxysilane, diisobutyldimethoxysilane, dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane, dicyclohexyldimethoxysilane, cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane, isopropyl-tert-butyldimethoxysilane, isobutyl-sec-butyldimethoxysilane and isopropyl-sec-butyldimethoxysilane.
The compounds b) and c) acting as cocatalysts can be allowed to act either individually, in succession in any order or together as a mixture on the catalyst solid a). This usually occurs at from 0 to 150xc2x0 C., in particular from 20 to 90xc2x0 C., and pressures of from 1 to 100 bar, in particular from 1 to 40 bar.
The cocatalysts b) are preferably used in such an amount that the atomic ratio of aluminum from the aluminum compound b) to the transition metal from the catalyst solid a) is from 10:1 to 800:1, in particular from 20:1 to 200:1.
The catalyst systems comprising a catalyst solid a) and, as cocatalysts, at least one aluminum compound b) or at least one aluminum compound b) and at least one further electron donor compound c) are very useful for the preparation of propylene polymers, both homopolymers of propylene and copolymers of propylene with one or more other 1-alkenes having up to 10 carbon atoms. For the purposes of the present invention, the copolymers may be ones in which the other 1-alkenes having up to 10 carbon atoms are randomly incorporated. The comonomer content is then generally less than 15% by weight. However, it is also possible for the propylene copolymers to be in the form of block copolymers or impact-modified copolymers. These generally comprise at least one matrix of a propylene homopolymer or a random propylene copolymer with less than 15% by weight of other 1-alkenes having up to 10 carbon atoms and a soft phase made up of a propylene copolymer containing from 15 to 80% by weight of other 1-alkenes having up to 10 carbon atoms in copolymerized form. Preferred comonomers are in each case ethylene or 1-butene. However, it is also possible to use mixtures of comonomers, so that, for example, terpolymers of propylene are obtained.
The preparation of the propylene polymers can be carried out in the customary reactors suitable for the polymerization of 1-alkenes, either batchwise or preferably continuously, for example in solution, as a suspension polymerization or as a gas-phase polymerization. Examples of suitable reactors are continuously operated stirred reactors, loop reactors, fluidized-bed reactors or horizontally or vertically stirred powder bed reactors. Of course, the reaction can also be carried out in a plurality of reactors connected in series. The reaction time depends critically on the reaction conditions selected in each case. It is usually from 0.2 to 20 hours, mostly from 0.5 to 10 hours.
The polymerization is generally carried out at from 20 to 150xc2x0 C., preferably from 50 to 120xc2x0 C. and in particular from 60 to 90xc2x0 C., and a pressure of from 1 to 100 bar, preferably from 15 to 40 bar and in particular from 20 to 35 bar.
The molar mass of the propylene polymers formed can be controlled by addition of regulators customary in polymerization technology, for example hydrogen, and adjusted over a wide range. It is also possible for inert solvents such as toluene or hexene, inert gases such as nitrogen or argon and relatively small amounts of polypropylene powder to be additionally used.
The mean molar masses (weight average) of the propylene polymers are generally in the range from 10,000 to 1,000,000 g/mol and the melt flow rates (MFR) are in the range from 0.1 to 100 g/10 min, preferably from 0.5 to 50 g/10 min. The melt flow rate corresponds to the amount of polymer which is extruded over a period of 10 minutes from the standardized test apparatus specified in ISO 1133 at 230xc2x0 C. under a weight of 2.16 kg.
Compared to previously known catalyst systems, the catalyst systems of the present invention make it possible to prepare 1-alkene polymers which have a good morphology and a high bulk density and which tend to form significantly fewer microspecks in film production. Furthermore, they effect a reduction in the pressure rise during melt filtration. In addition, the productivity of the catalyst systems of the present invention is increased.
Owing to their good mechanical properties, the polymers obtainable using the particulate solids according to the present invention, in particular the homopolymers of propylene or copolymers of propylene with one or more other 1-alkenes having up to 10 carbon atoms, are suitable for the production of films, fibers or moldings and especially for the production of films.